Buy/Drive/Burn: Affordable Japanese Subcompact Crossovers in 2021
In our last edition of Buy/Drive/Burn, we took a look at three subcompact American CUVs competing at the $25,000 price point. Most of you seemed to agree they were all terrible, but the Trax edged out the Buy in the comments.
Let’s see how you feel about the Japanese competition.
Honda HR-V
On sale elsewhere since 2013, Honda’s HR-V made its way to North America in 2016. On the same platform as the Fit, the HR-V was refreshed in 2019 with a new grille and more LED goodness, most of it designed to make it look more familiar to Civic customers. The HR-V is available in LX, Sport, EX, and EX-L trims, and all-wheel drive is available at all levels. Today’s budget nets us a low-level Sport AWD. Priced at $24,470, the HR-V uses a 1.8-liter inline-four for 141 horsepower and wrangles those horses with a CVT.
Mazda CX-30
The CX-30 is the newest competitor of our trio. Introduced for 2020, CX-30 occupies a similar market space as Mazda’s other subcompact crossover, CX-3. CX-3 uses the old Mazda 2 platform, while the larger CX-30 is a Mazda 3 underneath. CX-30 is available in seven different trims, from Base to Turbo Premium Plus. Front- and all-wheel drive are available throughout the range. Today’s version is a lower-level Select Package AWD for $25,300. Power arrives via the 3’s 2.5-liter inline-four, which produces 186 horsepower. The transmission is a six-speed auto, also from the 3.
Toyota C-HR
The CH-R arrived for the 2017 model year as Toyota’s smallest crossover. Based on Corolla, the CH-R was initially intended to wear a Scion badge before that marque’s untimely demise. In a strange product planning decision, the CH-R is the only car here to forego an all-wheel-drive option. However, in other markets, the CH-R is available with all-wheel drive, which means Toyota would prefer you purchase the more expensive RAV4 if you’re in North America. There are four CH-R trims: LE, XLE, Nightshade, and Limited. Today’s budget mandates a Nightshade, which has lots of black trim and additional trim-specific paint options. CH-R is powered by a 2.0-liter engine from the Corolla, good for 144 horsepower, and all CH-Rs use a CVT in North America.
Three Japanese crossovers asking for your dollars, which one’s worth buying?
[Images: Honda, Mazda, Toyota]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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There's no question the CX-30 is the best of the bunch - even though I hate Mazda's radio control interface. And the CX-30 is pretty peppy with the same engine as the base CX-5. The HR-V is nothing great but a friend of mine has one. Actually, it's fine for many people - in the same way a base Civic sedan is. But Honda's obvious cost-cutting is almost shocking. The CH-R? I have no idea who that vehicle is for. So... buy the Mazda, drive the Honda (but only briefly) and burn the Toyota.
Buy the HR-V Drive the Mazda Burn the Toyota - cause it's hideously ugly. I think it unintended accelerated out of the ugly garage and hit every beam on the way by...